The rise of Wamego girls basketball program can be directly tied to the Page family: Kaylee, Jim and Lanie (left to right).
Photo courtesy of Wendy Page
Years of following dad around and trying to pick each others' pockets on a basketball court have been instrumental as
Kaylee Page and
Lanie Page have helped turn their father Jim Page's basketball program into Kansas' best.
The sisters dropped in 42 points collectively as the Red Raiders upended 2012 champion McPherson 60-53 in last year's Kansas 4A state championship game. Now
Wamego (Kan.) has become both a favorite to win it again, and a program with its back against the wall.
Lanie Page crafted her game by playing against older,bigger players.
File photo by Kendall Shaw
Having drawn each opponent's best efforts in 2013-14, the Red Raiders are attempting to become the first school in 21 years to successfully defend a Kansas 4A state title. Topeka Hayden was the last program in Kansas' third-largest classification to go back-to-back in 1992-93.
"We have no illusions of grandeur here," Jim Page said. "It'd be fantastic to win it again, because no one has done it in ages. It's just tough to get there. We know the target is on our backs, but we don't talk about it. Right now we're focusing on trying to get better every single day."
Kaylee, a senior, first saw varsity action for her dad as a freshman in 2010-11, guiding the Red Raiders to a 7-13 record. Lanie took her spot on the roster in 2011-12 and the Red Raiders are 56-6 since. A year ago Wamego was 25-1.
Call it a great basketball upbringing if you will, but a natural sibling rivalry helped carry the torch of success as well.
"If one of them hits a left-handed jump shot off of the glass, then the other one gets a case of one-ups-manship and says, ‘If she can do it, then I need to learn how to do that,'" Jim said. "They really don't like it, but when they guard each other in practice, it benefits both of them."
Kaylee and Lanie are similar on the basketball court when it comes to numbers and the attention they receive from college recruiters. But their roles with the Red Raiders are quite different.
Kaylee, a Nebraska signee, is dad's point guard. His floor general. She's in charge of making sure the offense runs smoothly. Lanie, who is considering Nebraska as well along with several other D-1 schools, is more of a slasher and a scorer.
So far this season, Kaylee averages 16.1 points, 3.2 assists, 6.2 rebounds and 2.8 blocks a contest. Lanie, meanwhile, tosses in team highs of 16.4 points, 7.1 rebounds, 3.8 steals and three blocks per outing.
Lanie Page crafted her game by playing against older,bigger players.
File photo by Kendall Shaw
"She is a leader on the court," Lanie said of Kaylee. "She is really nice too. If someone doesn't know where to go, she points them in the right direction."
Lanie is more the attacker, according to her older sister.
"She is real aggressive," Kaylee said of her younger sister. "She finds a way to weave through three or four girls and gets to the basket. I don't know how she does it, but she always seems to get to the rim. She can hit her jump shot from anywhere.
"If she is on, I find a way to get her the ball, and if I'm on, she gets the ball to me. I like it. It's a challenge, but I like that. We like to get out and run. Sometimes we just go, go, go. The toughest part is slowing everybody down and getting them into our offense."
While Lanie does possess tremendous athletic ability, playing two grades up in the years leading up to high school also prepared her for the rigors of varsity basketball. Being the short girl on the court, she struggled to get her shot off against the taller girls, so she often had to improvise, darting and juking between her older teammates.
"It was really beneficial for me," Lanie said. "I wouldn't be the player I am today if I hadn't. I was always the short girl. The other girls were taller, stronger and more experienced. It was tough."
It may not be unheard of for mid-sized schools to employ a 6-foot-2 point guard that can do it all. But for a school Wamego's size to possess a pair of tall athletes that can play anywhere on the floor, that's not so normal.
"I think when a team has tall D-1 athletes on it, that can be intimidating for some," Kaylee said. "But I also think some teams take that as a challenge. I know if we were playing against a team like that, I'd want to try to go out and beat them. Everyone brings their ‘A' game against us. Some like the challenge."
Rarely does Wamego face a straight-up man defense. Usually a triangle and two is put to good use, or a diamond and one. The Red Raiders don't really have a set offense either. Jim usually waits until tip-off to determine how his opponent will play the Red Raiders. Then he determines how he will attack.
Being able to perform fundamentally is crucial when competing on any Jim Page team. Red Raider athletes don't work on a fundamental until they can do it. They work on the fundamental until they can't do it wrong.
"It has been fun," Jim said. "We've been really blessed to have the other kids around and great parents too. We want to get better, but have fun along the way. These kids love to learn and to challenge themselves. It is incredible to see the light bulb go off and see the look on their faces."
